The sky and the earth were dark, smoke rose and dust flew.
Jiang Youyue acted decisively, pouring his magic towards the group. He stood still, with shadowy root shadows appearing under his feet. The magic he performed was like an immortal descending to the earth, and he was not an ordinary person. The two deformed giant hands beside him moved slowly, and the root shadows were like puppets being led by them, trembling and spreading out.
The Imperial Master seemed to be standing in a translucent black autumn chrysanthemum. The strange situation made one's hair stand on end, and the sticky hostility made it difficult to breathe.
Monk Juehui and Hua Jingchun were both masters of some age. They knew they could not resist after just one look. The two dragged the disciple of Yueshui Pavilion on the left and right, and retreated like flying. This time they were just here to be witnesses. If they ended up dying without any evidence, that would be a lot of fun.
Yin Ci and Shi Jingzhi obviously understood this principle as well. They retreated cautiously and protected the other three people firmly.
Jiang Youyue looked at him respectfully, with a hint of admiration in his eyes. But the admiration didn't seem to be directed at a person, the Imperial Master seemed to be looking at a particularly good fruit.
"He can withstand the fear of dying and hold on to his uncertain doubts. He can still stay alert even when death is imminent. He is indeed a good material. General Yin, you have done us a great favor by training this man to this level."
After that, the green light was like a continuous spring rain, entangled with Shi Jingzhi's golden fire. The golden fire seemed to have been drenched by rain, and immediately weakened by three points. Yin Ci rushed forward with a sword, and a set of sword moves rolled up a hurricane like a long dragon. However, Jiang Youyue just raised one hand, and countless soft roots gathered into a ball and stopped the sword energy.
"But General Yin doesn't seem like a man of courage but no strategy... This time, are you trying to provoke Duanyun to lure me here and destroy the respect in front of us?"
Amid the vortex of sword energy and golden fire, Jiang Youyue's tone was leisurely and contented, with even a hint of smile in it.
…That sounds reasonable.
Shi Jingzhi's heart was at peace, but his body instinctively broke out in a cold sweat, and even the golden fire in his hand trembled three times. If he really had no deep connection with Yin Ci, he would definitely be persuaded at this moment and turn his head to the Yinxian Society. However, the drama must be played to the fullest. Master Shi wiped his lips with his sleeve and vomited a large mouthful of blood.
Yin Ci stood in front of Shi Jingzhi, his whole body trembling slightly, as if he was trying to suppress the urge to turn back. Then he took a deep breath and raised the Shadow Sword again: "I'll destroy you first!"
However, this time, "destiny" did not seem to be on the side of Kushan Sect.
If they were dealing with Qu Duanyun, they were still dealing with a "human". But the one in front of them was Jiang Youyue, who had borrowed the power of the hanging tree. As the will of the hanging tree, the true immortal did not need to appear, but just borrowed a little power, and the master and disciple would be helpless.
Jiang Youyue's long sleeves fluttered, and there were many shadows around him, giving him a calm and leisurely look. The master and apprentice were like old ladies cracking walnuts, unable to find any opportunity to take advantage of. In terms of experience in magic, Shi Jingzhi was no match for him. In terms of vitality, Yin Ci was no match for him. Even his weakness in martial arts was protected by the roots of the hanging tree.
Yin Ci was not discouraged, and his sword moves became faster and faster. Shi Jingzhi stood behind him, and the golden fire danced with the sword wind. The translucent root shadows broke and grew, and recovered again and again. With just a small mistake, several thin roots would form weapons and instantly pierce his body. If he reacted a little slower, they would rush towards him and try to tear Yin Ci in half.
Jiang Youyue fought more and more bravely, with magic flying all around. Shi Jingzhi did not dare to be careless at all. He had to switch from offense to defense, using gold and fire as a shield, just covering the two people. The "root giant hand" surrounding Jiang Youyue moved twitchingly, and the tiny roots spread rapidly on the ground, tripping everyone from time to time. The air became colder and stickier, and everyone felt a little weak under their feet.
The energy is lost, it is the power of the hanging wood.
Even with the protection of the Kushan Sect, Jue Hui and Hua Jingchun still couldn't escape the influence of the hanging tree. The two of them were out of breath, and before they could run far, they were entangled by the fully armed soldiers and dragged into the swordplay again.
In the distance, the sounds of fighting between Taiheng and the officers and soldiers were deafening. In the near distance, golden fire and ashes were blown up by the sword wind, and the weeds on the ground were all dyed bloody.
The situation became increasingly dire, but the two were unable to hurt the Imperial Master at all. It was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot or a gnat trying to shake a tree.
Unlike Qu Duanyun, Jiang Youyue was a troublesome opponent. He did not deliberately play tricks on them, nor did he delay time unnecessarily. At that time, Jingzhi still had the heart to resist, but he immediately decided to cut the Gordian knot without any mercy.
Even if the person on the other side is the one they carefully nurtured.
The roots absorbed more and more energy. Shi Jingzhi was affected by the hanging wood and his hands trembled. This time, he failed to defend himself and a deep bloody wound appeared on his right shoulder. The cheap door uniform on his body was torn in large pieces, revealing the scarred skin underneath.
It was as if someone had cut off pieces of skin from his shoulders and chest.
Shi Jingzhi gasped in pain and hurriedly pulled down his clothes to cover the large scars. Yin Ci finally turned his head and gave Shi Jingzhi an exceptionally sharp look. The sharpness in the sword's wind was even more obvious, and there was obviously more anger.
The wasteland was gradually submerged by shadowy roots, like a layer of translucent sewage. They slowly submerged everyone's hands and feet, turning the place into a deadly quagmire. Jiang Youyue smiled but said nothing, and his movements became more and more fierce.
Subconscious reactions can't deceive people. The relationship between these two people is obviously not that good. As long as there is a gap in people's hearts, it is easy to take advantage of it. Anyway, there is no need to verify Shi Jingzhi's "quality". This time, just tie him up and force him to drink meat, and the century-old cause will be accomplished.
Just one final touch.
Qu Duanyun was fighting with Yan Qing and Shi Zhongyu. The national teacher used the power of the hanging wood to exert his might, and Yan and Shi were also greatly affected, with many wounds on their bodies. The situation in the distance was not optimistic either - the Taiheng sect members were all law-abiding and upright people, and they did not dare to use heavy hands on the soldiers. In the chaos of the battle, Kushan and Taiheng were already showing signs of defeat.
As a last resort, Shi Zhongyu had to intercept the soldiers who were trying to launch a sneak attack, while Yan Qing continued to fight with Qu Duanyun, and the situation was temporarily stalemate.
"You were all fooled by the Kushan Sect."
Qu Duanyun swung his black sword horizontally, almost slicing Yan Qing's throat. The faint shadows of the roots surrounded him, and the pair of scarlet ghost eyes seemed particularly dazzling.
"Yin Zizhu is an immortal monster. If Shi Jingzhi dies by the sword, there are immortals who can save his life... Only you will surely die here later. How can a mortal's strength defeat an immortal?"
These people are always like this, unable to see the overall situation.
Once upon a time, Qu Duanyun also had such naive thoughts. But his parents didn't want him to only know gold and jade and not the five grains, so they sent him to a remote place to teach him to see the world.
Unfortunately, he did not learn compassion, but only developed a cold anger. Dayun had good weather and good harvests. Just sow some seeds on the ground and crops will grow in autumn. Just raise livestock in the back mountain and you will get pups after a while. However, month after month, the group of people could only do the most menial and simple jobs without any improvement.
Not only that, even when someone grits their teeth and fights to get ahead, there will always be people who jump out to spread rumors and poison the livestock, and find ways to pull people back into the quagmire.
… they are just animals who waste good places.
"If you can't defeat the True Immortal, then you can't defeat him." Yan Qing finally calmed down and added fuel to the fire with his gentleness. "It's one thing to be unable to defeat him, but it's another to just sit there and wait for death."
"Just sit there and wait for death?"
The feeling of defeat was still there, and Qu Duanyun's sword style was extremely ruthless. He was focused on chasing Yan Qing, and his voice was as cold as if it had been frozen in an ice cellar.
"People are divided into different classes. To Dayun, isn't it obvious which is more important, the young and strong or the old and lazy? Since you are not the latter, why do you sit there and wait for death?"
"Everyone grows old."
"So what? If Sun Huaijin and his ilk save enough money, they can still live to be a hundred years old with the help of medicine." Qu Duanyun said word by word, "If a young man does not make progress, he will have no money to prolong his life when he is old. This is just common sense!"
Yan Qing remained silent. His movements slowed down, and he stared at Qu Duanyun without blinking.
Yan Qing rarely showed anger, and now he was expressionless, only the sword of mercy gradually emitted a heavy hum. He took a breath, and some blood dripped from the wounds all over his body.
"Young Master Qu, you are more useless than I thought."
"useless?"
"On the one hand, you have a lot of money, but every step you take is a step back. On the other hand, you can see through your life when you stop working... Doing the same job is not called 'the same thing'."
Yan Qing's throat was cold, and his aura was as heavy as a rock, even his swaying roots became more obedient. He used his sword as a shield to block the heavy rain of attacks from the Guanwu Sword, and his voice did not even tremble.
"You don't worry about your parents, you don't worry about your future, so you naturally dare to take risks and risk your life... Excuse me, you are just a cursory look, you can't talk about your own situation, and you are not qualified to criticize."
Qu Duanyun sneered, his sword style faintly showing a desperate momentum: "It sounds high-sounding, but aren't you a great example? Even in the worst situation, you can still pull yourself out of the quagmire—"
Before he finished speaking, Yan Qing laughed. It wasn't a laugh of extreme anger, but a particularly bitter laugh.
“I’m a perfect example of this.”
The aura gathered around him, and the thin roots of the hanging trees were pushed away like mist. With Yan Qing as the center, a clear circle was formed in the wasteland.
"If my father had just died, I would still be struggling in Xizhuang, working every day to take care of him. When he passed away, I would be nearly forty and penniless... According to what you said, it is only natural that I would be eaten up by the hanging wood when I am old and have no one to rely on."
"And yet you lost to me."
Yan Qing's voice became calmer.
"Mr. Qu, I'm afraid your standard is half based on luck."
The whites of Qu Duanyun's eyes were stained with bloodshot: "Luck? I have been self-reliant since I was young—"
"It doesn't matter." Yan Qing sighed, looking at the dim sun. "When the Yinxian Society is uprooted by us, the Qu family will be infamous because of you, you will understand."
Qu Duanyun had just prepared a rebuttal, but it was all blocked in his chest. He shouted angrily, and the momentum around him exploded without a care.
"You keep shouting about friendship and righteousness, are you going to continue to rebel? The royal officers and soldiers are here, I want to see how you, the leader of the righteous path, can win!"
Counting the time, several hours have passed. The strange phenomenon here is obvious, and the officers and soldiers who were originally scattered are slowly gathering back. The Kushan Sect is just trying to be the strongest. What the Yinxian Association should worry about now is not failure, but how to win more cleanly.
Qu Duanyun was thinking hard here, while Yan Qing raised the Sword of Compassion high over there.
Yan Qing had accumulated a lot of energy, but he neither attacked Qu Duanyun nor the soldiers. The blade of the Compassion Sword pointed downward, and the dull and heavy blade was deeply inserted into the wasteland. The tombstone-like sword exploded with a wave of air, and the energy shook the earth.
"Master, the time has come!" Yan Qing took a deep breath and raised his voice.
Qu Duanyun hadn't recovered from his anger yet, and was completely confused: "What time..."
Before he finished speaking, the ground shook again, as if responding to the heavy sword strike. A team rushed in from a distance, and the silhouettes were not clear, but a strong murderous aura swept over first. Looking at the crooked charging formation, the newcomers were clearly from the Demon Cult.
At the same time, a familiar wave of magic surged from Jiang Youyue, as if someone had sent an urgent message with a letter—
The clothes caught fire without fire, and an anxious voice burst out from Jiang Youyue's chest. The voice was thin and sharp, and it was clearly the eunuch Lu Fu.
"Jiang, Lord Jiang." Lu Fu shouted in panic, "The emperor he, he he he—"
Is he dead
Qu Duanyun stopped his sword.
It doesn't matter if he dies. If Shi Jingzhi fails, they will put Xu Jingming, the useless guy, in charge and let the imperial master's lineage be the regent. It will only take one or two years to raise another generation of lustful children. There is no need to panic.
There are many creatures and minerals that are harmful to the hanging wood, but in the past three hundred years, they have all been exterminated by the Yinxian Society. The only "root of trouble" Yin Zizhu is also waiting to be dealt with under their noses. There is nothing in the world that can threaten the hanging wood, unless...
"The emperor surrendered to Narojiu! He surrendered without telling us!!!"
The old eunuch cried and spoke at the top of his lungs.